When should boys outgrow "baby talk"?

[teacups]

I dont know how else to describe it. Baby talk may not be exactly right.
Port sounds like pawt. No "r".... thats one example. At what age should I be concerned?

 

[C.Ann]

My SIL's son had these problems and when he entered kindergarten (at the age of 5) he was tested and put in a speech therapy program.. It was later determined that he had suffered from so many ear infections from infancy on, that the reason he couldn't "speak" properly was because he had never been able to "hear" the words properly.. How old is your son?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

When that voice in your head says it is time to check it out, that is when you do it. It is called "mommy radar".
It may be related to teeth, mouth, or hearing.

If there is an issue it is better to get it early rather than later. You can get some simple exercises and have them practice or it might be something else.

My youngest had issues with certain syllables due to her teeth. Key is to see if there is anything organic and go from there.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

If you think he sounds to 'babyish'...have it checked before school. Otherwise, if it continues, they will look into it in kindergarten. We always thought it was cute with my little sister...but then she was put into speech therapy from kindergarten to 2nd grade... her R's were W's..

 

[karibritt01]

My sone would say things like "cowar" for color, and "wipe" for white until 1sr grade. I talked to his teacher about it because he was writing words the way he pronounced them, and I was worried that it would make it harder for him to learn to read. She told me that most kids that age still have trouble with at least a few sounds, and that he would grow out of it. He did. By 2nd grade, no problem with any of his words... except pimento! He still calls it "peniminum cheese"... and he is 11!

 

[golfgal]

We had our oldest tested several times for speech therapy. He had difficulty pronouncing some letters. What we learned is that there are some letters that are harder to say and are "acceptable" to mispronounce later-3rd grade even. Kids learn to say a letter in the middle of a word first, then the end, then the beginning so if they are saying the letter in the middle and/or the end, the beginning of the word will follow not long after. He never qualified for speech therapy because the letters he had difficulty saying were withing the age range of mastery. Had he proceed to 4th grade with any mispronunciations he would have qualified. By age 4 they should be saying most letters correctly and most people should be able to understand them. If not, it would be a good idea to have the child tested.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

I dont know how else to describe it. Baby talk may not be exactly right.
Port sounds like pawt. No "r".... thats one example. At what age should I be concerned?

If you think he sounds to 'babyish'...have it checked before school. Otherwise, if it continues, they will look into it in kindergarten. We always thought it was cute with my little sister...but then she was put into speech therapy from kindergarten to 2nd grade... her R's were W's..

I just reread this...seems your son does the same as my sister... Her name is Keri... she'd say Kow-Wee... I can't remember the other things..that sticks out most.. Like I said.. she went to speech classes once a week for 1-2 yrs during school... Dont know if that is what helped or she grew out of it..but like others said, by 2nd-3rd grade..it was all better

 

[LisaNJ25]

We had our oldest tested several times for speech therapy. He had difficulty pronouncing some letters. What we learned is that there are some letters that are harder to say and are "acceptable" to mispronounce later-3rd grade even. Kids learn to say a letter in the middle of a word first, then the end, then the beginning so if they are saying the letter in the middle and/or the end, the beginning of the word will follow not long after. He never qualified for speech therapy because the letters he had difficulty saying were withing the age range of mastery. Had he proceed to 4th grade with any mispronunciations he would have qualified. By age 4 they should be saying most letters correctly and most people should be able to understand them. If not, it would be a good idea to have the child tested.

Did they say it was an articulation problem? My almost 4yo started going to speech in October. Early intervention at the schools would do nothing to help him. Said it was comman untill they were 8yo. I hit my health insurance max for the yeah and can't afford the $50 self pay charge 2 times a week for therapy.

Its driving me nuts because so many things he says wrong.(Fish is Pish for example) and he is hard tgo understand. He gets fustrated when we have to ask him to repeat stuff.

He got a cold when he was 1 1/2, tonsils swelled up and ears filled with fluid. He went a few months with bad hearing and we had no idea. Right after his 2nd birthday he had eartubes put in, tonsils and adnoids out.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Did they say it was an articulation problem? My almost 4yo started going to speech in October. Early intervention at the schools would do nothing to help him. Said it was comman untill they were 8yo. I hit my health insurance max for the yeah and can't afford the $50 self pay charge 2 times a week for therapy.

Its driving me nuts because so many things he says wrong.(Fish is Pish for example) and he is hard tgo understand. He gets fustrated when we have to ask him to repeat stuff.

He got a cold when he was 1 1/2, tonsils swelled up and ears filled with fluid. He went a few months with bad hearing and we had no idea. Right after his 2nd birthday he had eartubes put in, tonsils and adnoids out.

I would look into your health insurance more. Speak to the speech therapists where you would take him privately. They do their own evaluation. Your son could have low muscle tone, a tongue thrust etc. That will never correct itself. They might be able to help you get your insurance to pay.

OP- Have your child tested. Then have him tested privately. Don't wait until he is 9. (like the schools suggest) Good luck.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Did they say it was an articulation problem? My almost 4yo started going to speech in October. Early intervention at the schools would do nothing to help him. Said it was comman untill they were 8yo. I hit my health insurance max for the yeah and can't afford the $50 self pay charge 2 times a week for therapy.

Its driving me nuts because so many things he says wrong.(Fish is Pish for example) and he is hard tgo understand. He gets fustrated when we have to ask him to repeat stuff.

He got a cold when he was 1 1/2, tonsils swelled up and ears filled with fluid. He went a few months with bad hearing and we had no idea. Right after his 2nd birthday he had eartubes put in, tonsils and adnoids out.

I would look into your health insurance more. Speak to the speech therapists where you would take him privately. They do their own evaluation. Your son could have low muscle tone, a tongue thrust etc. That will never correct itself. They might be able to help you get your insurance to pay.

OP- Have your child tested. Then have him tested privately. Don't wait until he is 9 to do something about it. (like the schools suggest) Good luck.

 

[golfgal]

Did they say it was an articulation problem? My almost 4yo started going to speech in October. Early intervention at the schools would do nothing to help him. Said it was comman untill they were 8yo. I hit my health insurance max for the yeah and can't afford the $50 self pay charge 2 times a week for therapy.

Its driving me nuts because so many things he says wrong.(Fish is Pish for example) and he is hard tgo understand. He gets fustrated when we have to ask him to repeat stuff.

He got a cold when he was 1 1/2, tonsils swelled up and ears filled with fluid. He went a few months with bad hearing and we had no idea. Right after his 2nd birthday he had eartubes put in, tonsils and adnoids out.

I don't remember if it was an articulation problem or not, DS is 17 now, it's been a while. One thing to keep in mind is that if he isn't mature, physically or mentally the speech isn't going to do all that much for him. Some kids do take longer to develop, actually all kids take longer to develop, just in different areas. I don't see that at 4 years old saying Pish is all that out of the ordinary.

 

[bellebuzzntink]

I'm no speech therapist, but I've had 2 kids in speech therapy, and have been told that the "r" sound is one of the last ones to develop. The age 7 or 8 sticks out as being the last age at which it is normal for kids to start saying "r". (Someone feel free t correct me if I'm wrong!)

I would still get a formal evaluation to see if there are any other problems. School districts often offer this service, but I've found I get more information from a private Speech Language Pathologist.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Schools usually don't prescribe speech therapy for children with "r" articulation problems until after age 8, as that's the age by which it is usually self-corrected.

If you'd like therapy before that, you'd most likely be on your own.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Did they say it was an articulation problem? My almost 4yo started going to speech in October. Early intervention at the schools would do nothing to help him. Said it was comman untill they were 8yo. I hit my health insurance max for the yeah and can't afford the $50 self pay charge 2 times a week for therapy.

Its driving me nuts because so many things he says wrong.(Fish is Pish for example) and he is hard tgo understand. He gets fustrated when we have to ask him to repeat stuff.

He got a cold when he was 1 1/2, tonsils swelled up and ears filled with fluid. He went a few months with bad hearing and we had no idea. Right after his 2nd birthday he had eartubes put in, tonsils and adnoids out.

Is there a university in your town? If so, you might want to check and see if they have a Communication Disorders department/program. Usually grad students will do therapy (as practicum work) for a minimal fee. Our university charges ten dollars a week.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Special ed teacher chiming in:

R is the hardest sound in the English language. Many kids don't successfully pronounce the r sound until about mid elementary school. At this age kids are still developing their fine motor skills, and r takes a lot of coordination. If he gets to about third grade and is still having issues, then I would worry.

Part of it could also be by choice. I had a kindergartner once who thought it was cute to talk like a "baby". He was perfectly capable of talking like a "big boy" and it was just something that we had to reinforce. Not saying that is the case with your son, just a possibility.

If it is anything other than r, I would at least get him checked out. Even if it is only the r sound, it never hurts to ask your school or pediatrician just to see what they recommend.

 

[teacups]

Thanks everyone for all the good info. He's 7. He used to be more difficult to understand but now its just the R.

 

[Tinijocaro]

I'm no speech therapist, but I've had 2 kids in speech therapy, and have been told that the "r" sound is one of the last ones to develop. The age 7 or 8 sticks out as being the last age at which it is normal for kids to start saying "r". (Someone feel free t correct me if I'm wrong!)

I would still get a formal evaluation to see if there are any other problems. School districts often offer this service, but I've found I get more information from a private Speech Language Pathologist.

In Japan they don't even have an R sound, or an L sound for that matter-I'm sure there is a reason that didn't develop over there. My poor husband-when we lived in Tokyo, no one could say his name-Larry!

 

[shortbun]

You take care of it now because you're worried about it. Contact a speech therapist-at a university or county office or just anywhere to begin. I took my son to speech therapy before he started public school to avoid teasing. Little did I know that half his class would arrive with speech issues. Ya know, I was glad I had taken care of things for my son prior though. He loved his therapist and the home work was easy. Therapists know exactly what to do.

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

I had problems with the "L" sound until about third grade. I still have problems with the "w" at the beginning of the word "world." For some reason, I hear it as "world", I even think I hear myself say it as "world" but my mom has told me over and over that I say "vurld" instead of "world."

 

[golfgal]

ok, funny story--when DS17 was about 3 and his buddy was 4 his buddy was trying to teach DS how to say his name "right". His name is Tyler, and DS pronounced it Tywer. So Tyler would say "it's Tywer, not Tywer" So DS would repeat "Tywer". Tyler would say "no Ty-WER, not Tywer". It went on for about 5 minutes. We were all in the next room with tears rolling down our faces.